Project Description

Fly Environmentally | 綠色飛行模式

Description:
Aviation as a means of transportation is becoming increasingly affordable and popular to the masses. As more people are spending ever longer periods within an aircraft, the well-being of a passenger could make and break the experience one have towards the flight, or even the brand. Product design freshmasonry Leung Sha Long has designed ‘Transyware’, a set of new in-flight food service ware, which aims to create a better dining and user experience for users including not only passengers, but also cabin crew in an eco-friendly and user-friendly way.

Targeting economy class in traditional airlines, ‘Transyware’ aims to maximise the possibility of having a delightful air meal experience in an economical and practical way. By reducing the single-use packaging and material used for the tray, this simple and unibody structure can provide a clear usage flow for the cabin crew, saving them from the struggle of distributing the many pieces of packaging, and generate a better dining experience for the passengers. Furthermore, the sleek design of the tray also enhances the presentation of the food, with the transparency of the tray highlighting the vibrant colours of the ingredients.

Through the facilitation under 「DesignXcel」, the project team has exchanged ideas with collaborator ECO Concepts for the possibility of manufacturing Sha Long’s design with the eco-friendly material PLA, a biodegradable material extracted from corn-starch, also an ecological substitute to the conventional plastic. ECO Concepts is proud to note that ‘PLA uses 47% LESS non-renewable energy, and generates 59% LESS Greenhouse Gas emissions than the average plastic manufacturing.’

ECO Concepts has made specific suggestions for Sha Long’s design. For example, the fee for the injection mold tooling would cost significantly higher than other plastics alternatives, making it economically viable only for high volumes of production. Secondly, there are concerns whether PLA can withstand the commercial dishwashing processes. Lastly, PLA cannot be made in transparent, and the thinner areas of the designs shall be thickened to avoid deformation. Although the proposition to “go-green” may sacrifice some core features of Sha Long’s design, nevertheless there are valuable insights exchanged regarding the limits and opportunities of using PLA in future designs.
航空作為一種交通方式正變得越來越實惠，並且廣受歡迎。隨著越來越多的人在飛機內度過更長的時間，乘客的福祉可以創造，也可以打破人們對乘搭飛機，甚至該品牌的感覺。修讀產品設計的設計新鮮人梁莎朗設計了一套全新的機上食品服務裝置「Transyware」，旨在以環保及方便用家的方式，為用家創造更好的餐飲和用戶體驗，其用家不僅包括乘客，還包括機艙服務員。

「Transyware」針對傳統航空公司的經濟艙，旨在通過經濟實惠的方式最大限度地為用家提供愉快的空中餐飲體驗。通過減少一次性包裝和托盤使用的材料，這個簡單的一體式結構可以為機組人員提供清晰的使用流程，使他們免於陷入分發多件包裝的困難，並讓他們可以為乘客帶來更好的用餐體驗。此外，托盤的時尚設計也增強了食物呈現出來的美感，托盤的透明度突出了食材的鮮豔色彩。

在《設計列陣》的協助下，項目團隊與合作夥伴ECO Concepts交換了想法，討論了是否有可能以環保物料PLA，一種從玉米澱粉中提取的生物可分解材料，也是傳統的生態替代品生產梁同學的設計。ECO Concepts非常自豪地指出：「PLA使用少於47％的不可再生能源，並且比普通塑料製造產生的溫室氣體排放量低59％。」

ECO Concepts為梁同學的設計提出了具體建議。例如，射出成型模具的費用將顯著高於其他塑料替代品，使其只能在大批量生產中擁有經濟可行性。其次，人們會擔心PLA是否能夠承受店舖洗碗的過程。最後，PLA不能製造成透明色，設計較薄的區域應加厚以免它變形。雖然「走向綠色」的主張可能犧牲了梁同學設計中的一些核心特徵，但是雙方仍然在未來設計中使用PLA的限制和機會方面交換了很多具價值的見解。

Design Graduate:
Leung Sha Long

Collaborator:
Eco Concepts

Email:
shalongleung@gmail.com

School:
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 香港理工大學